This disclosure generally relates to electronic audio and/or video communications between multiple parties in enterprise networks and, more particularly, to a hybrid communication system that uses a peer-to-peer and centralized architecture for such communications.
The types of devices and services that users employ to effect electronic communications with one another have expanded significantly in recent years. For example, whereas users once used phones solely to engage in audio communications with one another, devices (e.g., smart phones) now enable people to engage in a wide variety of different types of electronic communications with one another, including video conferencing, text messaging, email, instant messaging, and location sharing.
Typically a centralized server mediates communications between two devices on an enterprise network in a media session, and users do not have an option of switching an established media session to some peer-to-peer connection of potentially higher bandwidth. Similarly, two electronic devices conducting a media session over a peer-to-peer connection do not have an option of switching the established media session over to some other peer-to-peer connection and/or centralized server connection that has better bandwidth. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments address these and other concerns regarding communications between electronic devices in enterprise systems.
The figures depict various example embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that other example embodiments based on alternative structures and methods may be implemented without departing from the principles of the disclosure.